rXGrtJ 


THE    NORMAL 

School  ^arterly 

Series  i  October,    1902  Number  j 


Faulty  Articulation 
and  Exercises  for  its  Correction 

By 

AMELIA    F.    LUCAS 


PUBLISHED      BY     THE      ILLINOIS      STATE 
NORMAL    UNIVERSITY,      NORMAL,     ILLINOIS 


JNIVERSITY  OF  JLLINOiS 

NORMAL  SCHOOL  Qt/4:gIE^T 

Published  by  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University,  Normal,  Illinois 

Series  1  OCTOBER,  1902  Number  3 


Faulty  Articulation  and  Exercises 
for  its  Correction. 

Perfection  in  articulation  is  rare.  Peculiarities  in 
speech  are  the  rule,  not  the  exception.  Unless,  how- 
ever, these  peculiarities  seriously  affect  the  flow  of  speech 
they  are  not  usually  considered  defects  or  faults,  but  only 
characteristics  which  help  to  reveal  the  individual  more 
completely  to  his  fellows.  But  since  the  function  of 
speech  is  primarily  to  reveal  thought,  and  since  the  life 
of  spoken  languag'e  becomes  extinct  in  the  utterance, 
and  the  thoughts  born  of  it  are  vivid  or  hazy,  depending 
to  a  great  degree  upon  the  clearness  with  which  the 
words  are  articulated,  it  will  be  claimed  that  any  peculi- 
arity, whether  annoying  or  not,  which  calls  attention  to 
itself  away  from  the  thought,  is  a  fault,  and  should  be 
eliminated  for  the  thought's  sake. 

A  perfect  articulation  assists  the  transference  of 
thought  and  its  accompanying  emotion.  A  distinct  ar- 
ticulation meets  the  requirements  of  the  ordinary  busi- 
ness of  life,  but  for  public  speaking,  impersonation,  the 
reading  of  poetry,  impassioned  prose,  the  drama,  and 
various  dialects,  simple  distinctness  is  inadequate,  and, 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly, 


indeed,  may  be  a  fault.  The  sharp  cutting  out  of  the 
consonants  in  some  of  Ophelia's  insane  speeches  would 
change  the  sweet  melancholy  into  coquetry: 

*'Fare  you  well,  my  dove." 

The  situation  demands  that  the  muscles  take  the  above 
words  up  gently,  pass  smoothly  over  them,  and  leave 
them  lingeringly. 

Sharp  consonantal  formation,  if  used  in  rendering  many 
speeches  of  Lady  Macbeth  in  the  sleep  walking  scene, 
wouldput  a  wide  awake  part  into  the  mouth  of  the  guilty 
queen  and  destroy  the  charm  of  the  master's  work.  From 
an  artistic  point  of  view,  when  simple  clearness  is  de- 
manded, any  appearance  of  effort  is  unpardonable.  This 
is  especially  true  in  ordinary  conversation.  Test  the 
effect  upon  the  following:  **She  (the  mother)  was  glad 
that  she  (Carol)  had  gone  as  she  had  come,  on  the  wings 
of  song,  when  all  the  world  was  brimming  over  with  joy; 
glad  of  every  grateful  smile,  of  every  joyous  burst  of 
laughter,  of  every  loving  thought  and  word  and  deed  the 
dear  last  day  had  brought.  ''*  On  the  other  hand  there 
are  times  when  this  biting  articulation  reveals  thought 
more  truly  than  can  an}?'  other: 

"Girll  nimble  with  thy  feet,  not  with  thy  hands! 
Curled  minion,  dancer,  coiner  of  sweet  words! 
Fight,  let  me  hear  thy  hateful  voice  no  more!"t 

Even  a  drawling  articulation,  so  wearisome  ordinarily, 
has  its  uses: 

*The  Bird's  Christmas  Carol.  fSohrab  and  Rustum. 


Faulty  Articulation  and  Exercises  for  Its  Correction.  3 

*'When  the  ^reen  gits  back  in  the  trees,  and  bees 
Is  a-buzzin'  aroun'  agin, 
In  that  kind  of  a  lazy  go-as-you-please 
Old  gait  they  bum  roun'  in, 
****** 

I  kind  o'  like  jes'  a  loferin'  roun' 
When  the  green  gits  back  in  the  trees 
****** 

When  the  green,  you  know,  gits  back  in  the  trees. "J 

Moreover,  the  articulation  must  be  capable  of  instan- 
taneous change;  in  fact,  as  often  as  the  emotion  varies, 
the  articulation  should  change  to  agree  with  it.  Notice 
the  following  from  "Twefth  Night:" 

Malvolio. — *  *And  then  to  have  the  humor  of  state;  and 
after  a  demure  travel  of  regard,  telling  them  I  know  my 
place,  as  I  would  they  should  do  theirs,  to  ask  for  my 
kinsman  Toby — " 

Sir  Toby.— ^^Bolts  and  shackles!" 

The  change,  tho  less  abrupt,  should  be  clearly  appar- 
ent in  the  reading  of  the  first  stanza  of  *'The  Vision  of 
SirLaunfal:" 

"Over  his  keys  the  musing  organist, 

Beginning  doubtfully  and  far  away, 
First  lets  his  fingers  wander  as  they  list, 

And  builds  a  bridge  from  dreamland  for  his  lay; 
And  as  the  touch  of  his  loved  instrument 

Gives  hope  and  fervor  nearer  draws  his  theme, 
First  guessed  by  faint  auroral  flushes  sent 

Along  the  wavering  vistas  of  his  dream."?  ' 

A  perfect  articulation,  then,  is  one  which  completely 
serves  the  speaker;  it  is  a  clear,  free,  slow,  rapid,  pol- 
ished, muddy,  fumbling,  dainty,  ponderous,  or  sprightly 

JRiley.  ?Lowell. 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly, 


articulation,  or  as  many  of  these  in  rapid  succession  as 
the  case  demands.  It  is  dependent  upon  muscles  which 
have  become  strong*,  flexible,  and  exceedingly  responsive 
to  the  speaker's  mental  states. 

Of  the  faults  which  we  meet,  it  is  no  doubt  true  that 
lack  of  clearness  is  the  most  serious.  Children  learn  to 
talk  at  home.  They  imitate  the  peculiarities  of  the 
speech  of  their  parents  and  playmates,  and,  if  these  be 
good,  they  carry  to  school  at  the  age  of  six,  habits  which 
may  remain  for  life;  if  the  peculiarities  imitated  be  bad, 
the  result  is  unfortunate,  and  the  teacher's  work  is 
doubled.  But  occasionally  children  even  of  intelligent, 
clear-speaking  parents,  do  not  articulate  well.  This 
may  be  due  partly  to  the  fact,  that,  being  petted  for 
their  ineffectual  baby  efforts  they  conclude  that  it  is  un- 
necessary to  speak  as  grown-ups  do,  and  that  if  they 
should,  they  would  lose  the  sweets  of  commendation; 
and  it  may  be  due  partly  to  asking  children  to  pronounce 
words  and  repeat  messages  of  whose  meaning  they  have 
no  knowledge,  and  with  whose  oral  form  they  have  but 
slight  acquaintance. 

If  a  habit  of  indistinct  speech  has  been  allowed  to 
remain  until  the  age  of  ten  years,  it  is  probably  true 
that,  whatever  the  original  cause,  the  muscles  are  now 
the  offenders.  The  experience  has  come  to  many  teach- 
ers of  finding  a  particularly  bright  boy  able  to  lead  the 
class  in  thought  preparation,  whose  oral  work  was  far 
below  that  of  the  average,  because  of  indistinct  speech. 
Probably  he  never  was  expected  to  speak  clearly  at 
home,  and  his  teachers  had  failed  to  inspire  him  to  the 
formation  of  better  habits.     Perhaps  it  is  not  possible 


Faulty  Articulation  and  Exercises  for  its  Correction.  5 

for  the  teachers  to  correct  the  speech  of  a  child  of  that 
age  without  the  aid  of  vigilant  assistance  from  the  par- 
ents. After  the  age  of  seven,  or  possibly  eight,  indis- 
tinct speech  is  usually  caused  by  muscular  rigidity  or 
too  much  nerve  tension  during  phonation;  but  occasion- 
ally we  meet  cases  of  just  the  opposite  nature,  where 
the  stimulus  is  too  slight  to  easily  move  an  over-large, 
heavy  muscle.  But  whatever  the  cause  from  which  the 
indistinctness  has  come,  it  is  safe  to  say  that,  when  this 
fault  exists,  the  forms  of  the  sounds  as  made  by  the 
muscles  are  incorrect— especially  the  consonantal  forms. 

Consonants  are  the  framework  of  language — the  bony 
structure  upon  which  the  individuality  of  words  depends. 
Of  these  sounds  the  surd  and  sonant  mutes  are  most  dif- 
ficult. Clearness  depends  upon  the  accurate  and  often 
sharp  action  of  the  muscles  in  forming  this  class  of  con- 
sonants, especially  if  terminal,  so  that  one  word  may  be 
rounded  up  before  another  is  spoken;  if  initial,  they 
need  often  to  be  attacked  vigorously  to  introduce  the 
oncoming  word.  But  in  the  correction  of  indistinct 
speech,  less  attention  may  usually  be  given  to  initial 
than  to  final  consonants  because  *'the  general  tendency 
of  language  is  to  pronounce  with  diminishing  force,'* 
giving  naturally  to  the  initial  sound  the  greater  promi- 
nence. 

The  muscles  of  the  lips  and  tongue  must  with  preci- 
sion and  great  rapidity  change  the  shape  and  size  of  the 
mouth  cavity,  never  mixing  the  forms,  altho  all  may  be 
joined.  Slight  inaccuracies  confuse  the  speech  materi- 
ally: failure  to  strongly  touch  the  gum  with  the  point  of 
the  tongue  for  the  sound  of  t;  starting  the  sound  of  1  be- 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly. 


fore  the  muscles  are  in  place;  the  closing  of  the  teeth 
when  pronouncing  the  sound  of  n;  the  failure  to  com- 
pletely finish  the  diphthongal  consonant  j  (dzh);  too  lit- 
tle tension  in  the  tongue  when  y  is  the  sound  needed; 
the  drawing  in  and  up  of  the  lower  lip  when  attempting 
w;  too  quick  and  too  complete  relaxation  of  the  muscles 
after  taking  position  for  the  surd  and  sonant  mutes, 
causing  an  added  explosive  akin  to  ii — all  these  devia- 
tions from  correct  formation  produce  indistinctness  in 
rapid  speaking.  Lisping  is  an  example  of  the  failure  of 
the  muscles  to  work  accurately.  In  the  lisp  the  point 
of  the  tongue  falls  too  low  and  is  projected  between  the 
teeth,  causing  the  sound  of  th;  it  should  be  held  easily 
up  just  back  of  the  '^teeth  rim"^  to  produce  a  perfect  s. 
No  doubt  many  children  who  lisp  are  unconscious  that 
they  speak  differently  from  others,  until  attention  is 
called  to  the  defect  at  school  after  the  habit  has  become 
so  firmly  rooted  as  to  be  troublesome  to  eradicate.  Cor- 
rection of  this  fault  should  be  begun  at  home  while  the 
muscles  are  experimenting  with  sound  forms. 

Rigid  muscles  do  not  respond  promptly  to  the  will  of 
the  speaker.  People  who  think  quickly  and  clearly  suf- 
fer real  afiliction  if  not  able  to  articulate  their  thought 
with  ease.  Such  minds  do  not  wait  for  the  tardy  articu- 
lation (tardy  if  clearness  be  attempted)  but  resort  to  a 
rapid  half  formed  speech  as  an  alternative.  Labored 
articulation  may  be  due  to  flabby  muscles.  Great  phys- 
ical pain  sometimes  reveals  itself  in  slow,  muffled  speech. 
Drawling,  when  not  purposely  used,  indicates  muscular 

*Sweet:  Primer  of  Phonetics. 


Faulty  Articulation  and  Exercises  for  its  Correction,  7 

laziness.  Overdone  clearness  is  sometimes  due  to  over- 
conscientiousness  in  league  with  a  stilted  ideal. 

Many  of  the  faults  mentioned  above  may  be  corrected 
by  a  few  simple  drills,  quite  general  in  their  nature;  but 
others  need  specific  attention.  Some  general  drills  which 
have  been  tested  repeatedly  will  now  be  mentioned. 
They  may  be  used  in  any  adult  class,  and  in  grades  six 
to  eight. 

I.  Drills  for  accurate  muscle  placing,  to  secure  clear- 
ness of  speech. 

A,  With  breathing: 

a.  With  the  weight  evenly  upon  both  feet,  exhale  as 
completely  as  possible;  inhale,  broadening  the  body  at 
the  waist,  while  allowing  the  muscles  which  lift  the 
chest  to  respond  very  gradually.  Repeat  several  times, 
exhaling  as  slowly  as  possible.  Hold  the  fourth  inhala- 
tion a  second  or  two,  then  give  sharply  the  sound  of  the 
letter  t,  allowing  the  least  possible  escape  of  air  from 
the  lungs.     Exhale  slowly. 

b.  Increase  the  efficacy  of  exercise  a  by  giving  the 
same  sound  t  three  times  using  the  muscles  of  articula- 
tion strongly  while  holding  the  breath  back.  Keep  the 
body  steady. 

c.  Repeat  a  and  b,  giving  the  sound  t  with  extreme 
lightness.  For  a,  b  and  c,  the  surd  labial  and  dental 
mutes  are  better  than  other  consonants — t  the  better  of 
the  two. 

d.  Monosyllabic  words  containing  frontal  initial  and 
final  mutes  (lift,  test,  burst,  turned,  felt)  may  be  used  in 
connection  with  the  breathing  exercises  instead  of  single 
sounds;    later,  phrases,  whole   sentences,   or   complete 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly. 


stanzas  may  be  given,  speaking  the  words  distinctly  but 
rapidly,  without  apparent  exhalation,  while  holding  the 
voice  on  a  low  pitch  to  prevent  strain. 

These  exercises  are  used  because  the  muscles  which 
control  the  flow  of  breath  should  be  able  to  do  their  work 
without  weariness,  at  the  same  time  that  the  articulatory 
muscles  act  with  either  force  or  ease.  No  reflex  of  fatigue 
from  the  muscles  of  respiration  should  ever  be  felt  in 
the  throat  or  mouth. 

B,  Without  breathing: 

e.  Practice  carefully  upon  all  the  consonant  sounds 
and  short  vowels,  paying  close  attention  to  form. 

/.  Incisive  drills  upon  words,  phrases,  and  sentences 
containing  combinations  of  sonant  and  surd  mutes  fur- 
nish an  advance  upon  e,  and  are  necessary  to  the  carry- 
ing over  of  the  benefit  derived  from  the  drills  already 
suggested  into  the  pronunciation  of  words  and  sentences. 
A  few  examples  may  be  helpful.  Easy  words:  most, 
prompt,  put,  but,  might,  dust,  wasp.  Difficult  words: 
burned,  round,  rubbed,  sixths,  strength,  gold.  An  easy 
sentence :  '  'What  matter  how  the  night  behaved?"*  Dif- 
ficult sentences:  **When  thou  didst  hate  him  worst,  thou 
lovedst  him  better  than  ever  thou  lovedst  Cassius.  ''f 

"You  sulphurous  and  thought-executing  fires, 
Vaunt  couriers  to  oak-cleaving  thunderbolts. 
Singe  my  white  head."t 

The  drills  for  clearness  aim  to  correct  lisping,  drawl- 
ing, weak  action  of  the  muscles  and  incorrect  formation. 
II.  Drills  for  smoothness  in  the  actions  of  the  muscles, 


*Snow-bound.     f  Julius  Caesar.     JKing  Lear. 


Faulty  Articulation  and  Exercises  for  its  Correction.  9 

the  result  desired  being  an  easy  flow  of  speech  without 
loss  of  clearness. 

The  material  for  drills  of  this  character  may  be  entire 
sentences,  or  nouns,  adjectives,  or  verbs  which  suggest 
the  idea  of  some  form  of  beauty.  Prose  will  not  serve 
the  purpose  well;  very  rhythmic  poetry  is  best. 

Examples  of  words:  sweet,  lovely,  delicate,  gentle, 
lapsing,  tenderly,  murmuring. 

Sentences: 

"O  a  dainty  plant  is  the  ivy  green 
That  creepeth  o'er  ruins  old; 
Of  right  choice  food  are  his  meals,  I  ween, 
In  his  cell  so  low  and  cold."* 
The  above  are  somewhat  easy  but  the  following  are 
more  diflicult: 

''With  a  drowsy  sound  the  forest 
Whispered  round  the  sultry  wigwam; 
With  a  sound  of  sleep  the  water 
Rippled  on  the  beach  below  it. 

■X-  *  -x-  ^  -x-  -x- 

**Slowly  o'er  the  simmering  landscape 

Fell  the  evening's  dusk  and  coolness. 

^  -x-  *  *  *  -x- 

"And  the  waves  upon  the  margin, 
Rising,  rippling  on  the  pebbles, 
Sobbed,  'Farewell,  O  Hiawatha."'t 

A  light,  dainty  touch  must  be  given  to  the  harsher 
consonants;  a  soft  pressure  to  the  accented  vowels,  while 
the  lips  caressingly  form  the  labials,  and  all  are  easily 
blended.  Unaccented  vowels  must  be  correctly  formed. 
In  conversation  these  may  in  many  cases  be  slighted,  but 
never  in  drill.  Webster's  International  Dictionary  cau- 
tions the  speaker  always  to  hold  in  mind  a  definite  sound 

*©^6^wniii-g...  fLongfellow. 


10  The  Normal  School  Quarterly, 

when  voicing  obscure  vowels.  Special  stress  should  be 
laid  upon  making  an  easy  transition  from  one  word  to 
another.  While  the  muscles  take  the  words  up  precisely, 
they  should  do  so  gently. 

The  exercises  for  smooth  speaking  should  correct 
overdone  articulation,  partially  relieve  rigidity  in  the 
muscles,  and  prevent  too  much  nerve  tension.  All  the 
drills  suggested  thus  far  will  have  a  tendency  to  slow 
the  speech,  yet  one  should  be  able  to  speak  rapidly  with- 
out loss  of  clearness  or  smoothness. 

III.  Drills  for  muscular  flexibility,  the  result  being 
the  ability  to  speak  clearly,  smoothly  and  rapidly. 

a.  The  latter  half  of  drill  d  for  clearness. 

b.  Inhale.  Drill  upon  long  rhythmic  sentences,  keep- 
ing the  swing  and  pronouncing  the  words  lightly,  rap- 
idly, without  another  inhalation. 

"Merrily,  merrily  whirls  the  wheels  of  the  dizzying"  dances, 
Under  the  orchard  trees  and  down  the  path  to  the  meadow."* 


"And  ere  he  blew  three  notes 
•X-  *  -x-  *  * 

Out  came  the  children  running — 

All  the  little  boys  and  girls, 

With  rosy  cheeks  and  flaxen  curls, 

And  sparkling  eyes  and  teeth  like  pearls, 

Tripping  and  skipping  ran  merrily  after 

The  wonderful  music  with  shouting  and  laughter. "t 

c.  Rapid  drill  on  the  following,  from  *'L' Allegro," 
will  help  secure  the  flexibility  desired,  together  with  a 
slightly  staccato  movement: 

^Longfellow.  fBrowning. 


Faulty  Articulation  and  Exercises  for  its  Correction.  11 

"Haste  thee,  Nymph,  and  bring"  with  thee 
Jest  and  3^outhful  jollity, 
Quips  and  cranks,  and  wanton  wiles, 
Nods  and  becks,  and  wreathed  smiles. 
Such  as  hang  on  Hebe's  cheek, 
And  love  to  live  in  dimple's  sleek. 
*  *  *  *  -x-  -x- 

Come  and  trip  it  as  you  go. 
On  the  light  fantastic  toe."t 

These  drills  for  flexibility  should  do  much  toward 
overcoming"  rigidity  and  slow,  heavy,  or  drawling  articu- 
lation. The  double  consonants  and  the  frequent  recur- 
rence of  the  surd  mutes  make  the  lines  quoted  particu- 
larly useful  for  this  drill. 

(It  must  be  understood  that  while  the  voice  may  be 
affected  by  these  drills,  they  are  not  voice  drills^  nor  are  they 
in  any  sense  true  reading,  but  simply  muscle  drills  for 
which  the  voice  must  be  kept  in  the  background  and  the 
actions  of  the  muscles  be  made  prominent.) 

Because  of  the  tendency  of  children  to  imitate  those 
about  them,  the  example  ot  the  teacher  in  the  lower 
grades  should  act  as  a  powerful  agent  in  the  establish- 
ment of  correct  habits  of  speech.  His  articulation  should 
be  correct,  clear  and  smooth.  In  the  first  three  years, 
perhaps  all  that  the  teacher  need  do,  except  for  special 
cases,  will  be  to  insist  upon  correct  pronunciation  and 
clear,  definite  production  of  the  elementary  sounds.  In 
the  fourth  and  fifth  grades,  lists  made  up  of  words  which 
have  been  found  difficult  may  be  used  for  sharp  drill. 
Examples:  stalked,  thanked,  risked  (kt);  midst,  shouldst, 
(dst);  watched  (cht);  clothes,  breathes,  thither,  whither, 

tMilton. 


12  The  Normal  School  Quarterly. 

beneath,  wreathed,  (sonant  th).  Words  containing 
vowels  which  are  often  slighted  or  those  which  are  diffi- 
cult to  distinguish  from  others  closely  related,  and  con- 
sonants likely  to  be  carelessly  formed  may  be  used  to 
advantage.  Examples  of  consonants:  little,  and,  hath, 
his,  kept.  Vowels  often  slighted:  sayest,  mountains, 
curtains,  restlessly,  traveled,  impossible,  forest,  anvil, 
real,  happiness,  difficult.  Words  containing  vowels 
closely  related:  cause,  cost,  lost,  laws,  taught,  tot,  dog, 
daub.  Consonants  and  vowels  may  be  isolated  and  reg- 
ular drill  be  given  upon  them  in  any  grade,  suiting  the 
drills  to  the  advance  which  the  classes  are  making  in 
phonics.  The  drills  on  individual  sounds  will,  however, 
be  of  little  practical  value  unless  the  sounds  are  after- 
wards correctl}^  used  in  words.  Short  Italian  a  is  much 
abused.  After  giving  the  sound  by  itself  pronounce  the 
following:  half,  laugh,  pass,  class,  last,  calf,  can't,  ask. 
Long  u  requires  special  attention.  In  blue  the  value  is 
i  oo — blioo;  in  beauty  long  u  is  yoo — byooty.  In  mute, 
pure,  view,  few,  cube,  ii  takes  the  yoo  form;  in  tune, 
duty,  lute,  new,  suit,  jury,  u  is  i  60.  (See  §§  132,  133,  134, 
page  Ixiv,  of  Webster's  International  Dictionary.)  Gen- 
eral drill  upon  phrases  and  sentences,  for  the  purpose  of 
benefiting  the  articulation,  in  my  opinion  had  better  not 
be  attempted  lower  than  the  upper  fourth  or  beginning 
fifth  grades. 

For  unusual  cases,  however,  more  help  will  be  needed. 
A  boy  now  in  the  second  grade,  and  about  ten  years  of 
age,  until  within  a  few  months  has  never  spoken  clearly 
enough  to  be  understood  by  any  one  except  his  parents. 
The  cause  of  his  deplorable  state  we  do  not  know,  but 


Faulty  Articulation  and  Exercises  for  its  Correction,  13 

we  know  that  the  muscles  of  the  tong-ue  and  of  the  lips 
refused  to  act  except  in  a  most  imperfect  fashion  for  the 
formation  of  about  four-fifths  of  the  consonants,  and 
very  tardily  and  imperfectly  produced  the  vowels,  ex- 
cept the  Italian  a's,  o  and  o.  Some  of  the  vowels  were 
never  given.  The  sentence  ^*I  can't  find  my  cap"  was 
pronounced  ''I  son  sin  my  sap"  as  nearly  as  it  can  be  in- 
dicated. The  italicized  sounds  were  less  distinct  than 
the  others,  and  none  of  the  words  were  clear. 

A  tutor  was  appointed  for  him  who  had  a  fairly  ac- 
curate acquaintance  with  the  elementary  sounds  and  the 
muscular  action  necessary  for  each.  Two  periods  of 
twenty-five  minutes  each  per  day  were  set  apart  for  her 
work  with  him.  The  first  step  was  to  secure  data. 
Part  of  each  of  the  two  periods  was  spent  in  drilling 
upon  the  consonants  and  vowels  which  were  easy  for 
him  with  one  or  two  of  the  harder  ones,  and  the  rest  of 
the  period  was  g'iven  to  reading  in  the  hope  that  some 
application  of  the  drill  might  be  made.  A  game  which 
required  conversation  containing  words  somewhat  easy 
for  him  was  used;  he  was  asked  to  tell  of  the  progress 
of  some  public  improvements  being  made  in  the  town;  a 
story  was  arranged  that  contained  only  words  which  he 
could  pronounce,  and  he  read  this  regularly  for  days, 
trying  to  give  clearness  to  all  words.  Sounds  which 
were  diflicult  were  given  by  the  tutor  with  over-stressed, 
large  muscular  action  while  he  watched.  For  some  of 
the  sounds  he  was  told  to  place  the  tongue  and  the  lips 
(by  pushing  with  the  fingers)  in  the  proper  position.  The 
first  sentence  that  he  gave  clearly  was  '*You  do,  do  you? 
well  then,  you  may."     Today  after  a  term  of  such  work 


14  The  Normal  School  Quarterly, 

with  one  period  a  day  for  half  of  the  time,  he  gives  all 
of  the  consonants  except  v,  w,  r,  sh,  and  th  sonant,  and 
all  the  vowels  except  a.  T,  p,  and  s,  are  still  hard  in 
some  combinations.  There  is  general  indistinctness  yet, 
especially  in  conversation;  but  even  in  this  respect  his 
speech  is  vastly  improved.  We  hope  for  success^  but  if 
we  fail  finally,  it  will  be,  partly  at  least,  because  we  can 
not  secure  from  the  pupil  a  generous  response  to  the 
help  given.  No  drill,  however  well  chosen,  planned  and 
presented,  will  clear  and  polish  the  speech  without  the 
pupil's  hearty  co-operation.  He  must  have  a  high  ideal 
and  must  work  with  persevering  effort  to  attain  it.  The 
desire  to  make  one's  self  heard  easily,  is  indispensable  in 
this  work,  and  it  will  often  stimulate  to  more  effectual 
effort  than  can  ever  be  obtained  by  the  exclusive  use  of 
mechanical  drills. 


Faulty  Articulaiion  and  Exercises  for  its  Correction,  15 


Calendar  for  1902-1903. 


WINTER  TERM,   1902-1903. 

December  1 — Winter  term  begins. 

December  17 — Semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Education. 

December  18 — Annual  contest  of  literary  societies. 
December  20 — Recess  of  two  weeks. 
January  5,  1903 — Winter  term  resumes. 
February  28 — Annual  contest  in  oratory. 
March  6 — End  of  winter  term. 
Vacation  of  nine  days. 

SPRING  TERM,  1903. 

March  16 — Spring  term  begins. 
June' 3 — Annual  meeting  of  Board  of  Education. 
June  3 — Annual  meeting  of  the  Alumni. 
June  4 — Annual  commencement  exercises. 

SUMMER   SESSION,  1903. 

June  8 — First  summer  term  begins. 
July  20 — Second  summer  term  begins. 
August  28 — Second  summer  term  ends. 
September  7 — Beginning  of  fall  term  of  1903-04. 

Address  all  inquiries  for  catalogs   and  information 
concerning  courses  to 

David  Felmley,  President, 

Normal,  Illinois. 


Pantagraph  Printing  and  Stationery  Co. 
Bloomington,  Illinois 


^^----T.SO,^,^ 


Application  made  for  admission  to  the  United  Stares 
mails  at  Normal,  Illinois,  as  second  class  matter. 


